Government financial advisor: Government plan to raise non-oil revenues to 46 percent
The Prime Minister’s financial advisor, Mazhar Muhammad Salih, announced on Monday that the government has developed a plan to raise non-oil revenues to 46% within ten years. He indicated that the government is committed to increasing the private sector’s contribution to 54% of GDP. Salih told the official news agency that “the government’s fiscal policy for the next ten years aims to achieve economic stability and sustainable development by diversifying revenue sources and strengthening the role of the private sector in the national economy.” He added that “the fiscal policy has a pivotal planning path, with achieving the goals of economic stability and sustainable development at the forefront of its priorities. The government will continue to implement its tools and procedures through the federal budget by restructuring public expenditures and revenues, which will contribute to restructuring the real economy at the macro level.”
He added that “the financial path aims to achieve two main goals during the next ten years, the first of which is to diversify non-oil revenue sources to reach about 46% of total public revenues, compared to no more than 10% or less at the present time, while the second goal is to raise the contribution of the private sector to the gross domestic product from about 37% to 54% during the next decade.”
Saleh explained that “the financial plan stems from the conviction that diversifying public revenues and reducing the burdens imposed by a single-sector rentier economy go hand in hand with increasing the contribution of the private sector to the gross domestic product, because expanding the contribution of the private sector enhances the diversification of the national economy and increases opportunities for investment, production and employment.”
He also pointed out that “the principles and mechanisms of financial planning for the future of Iraq are based on gradually enhancing the added value produced by the private sector, which supports diversifying the structure of the gross domestic product and enhances the sustainability of economic growth.”
Saleh explained that “revitalizing the productive sectors, expanding the investment base, and implementing strategic projects with a direct impact on local development are key pillars for creating sustainable job opportunities and reducing unemployment rates to single digits, reaching about 3% of the total workforce, instead of its current level of 13%.”
He stressed that “the economic philosophy upon which the process of sustainable development and achieving stability in Iraq is based is based on an effective partnership between the state and the market, which ensures the integration of the public and private roles in building a diversified economy that is more capable of facing future challenges.”
Burathanews.com